Chrono Crusade: The REAL Ending
by Gyrfalconne
Summary: My take on how the series should have ended. In the deep of the night, Chrono decides that he wants to continue living with Rosette at his side.
1. Desperation

CC: The Real Ending.

Ch. 1 "Desperation"

Their cabin was dark, a single beam of moonlight shining wanly through the window. Chrono stripped down to his trousers, and climbed into bed. Something had been weighing heavily on his mind these past few months. On both their minds. He could tell Rosette was thinking about it too.

She would die soon. And when she died, he would die as well. And Chrono, who had lived for hundreds upon hundreds of years, did not think that he was quite ready to rejoin the Astral Line. The warm form beside him shifted restlessly, and he curled up around Rosette, stroking a hand over her loose hair.

She mumbled softly and pressed further into his warmth. Chrono felt his heart squeeze in agony. He loved her. But for all his love, he could not show her how much he loved her. He was trapped. Trapped in the body of a 15 year old boy; and to a woman of 19 his form was woefully inadequate.

Chrono cursed softly, and buried his nose in her strawberry blonde hair. She sighed softly, and raised one hand behind her head to stroke his pointed ears. Apparently she was having trouble sleeping too.

"Chrono…" He smiled and kissed the nape of her neck. "Sorry, did I wake you?" She turned in his arms, and rested her head just beneath his chin. "No…I couldn't sleep." Chrono waited for tonight's revelation.

It had been like this, ever since they started sharing a bed. They both wanted, both needed the contact, the reassurance that the other was still there. There was nothing more physical than a few loving kisses, or soft caresses, but what they lacked in activity Rosette made up for in soul-searching. And as Chrono was bound to her, he too participated in this nightly ritual.

Sometimes he would say nothing, merely holding her as she cried or vented or spoke of better days, and sometimes he would tell her of the mistakes he wished he had never made, or the lives he regretted taking.

Tonight, it seemed Rosette was in a rather melancholy mood. It disturbed Chrono, not because she was sad and scared, but because it was becoming the norm rather than the exception. For weeks her laughter had been forced, and her eyes did not sparkle the way they used to.

He was killing her. His very existence was killing her and he hated it.

"Chrono…I don't want to die." Chrono felt his heart squeeze in his chest. It was his fault. He stroked her hair, trying not to succumb to the tears he knew were lurking beneath the surface.

"It was so easy to laugh it off…to pretend that my time would never come. I thought it would be worth it if I could just have my little brother back….but…but…" She sobbed quietly into his chest. "It was all for nothing. He doesn't remember me…" Chrono hugged her tightly as she wept for the futility of it all.

"If you hadn't been there…my time would have been wasted." She blinked away tears and looked up into his eyes. "At least…I spent it with you." Chrono smiled softly and kissed her tears away. "Don't talk like that Rosette, we've got a little more time. Let's just focus on making it the best time of our lives." She smiled wanly, that little forced smile that made him hate himself.

"You're right Chrono. You usually are huh?" He nodded and chastely kissed her forehead.

Time. All they needed was a little more time. Chrono furrowed his brow. He couldn't think of anything that could give Rosette back her time.

Time.

Chrono's eyes snapped wide open. He knew what he could do. He could save them both.

Chrono waited until Rosette was well and truly asleep before slipping out of bed, and re-dressing. He scribbled a note to Rosette, and left it on the table. He slipped out through the window, not wanting to chance waking her with the squeaky door.

His only hope….his prayer was that his idea was not so far-fetched that God would laugh in their faces. Much as the demon hated to admit it, he needed God's cooperation for this one.

Rosette awoke to a cold bed, and birdsong. Dawn was filtering in through the window lit up the scrap of fluttering paper on the kitchen table. Tugging the blankets around her shoulders she shakily made her way over, picking up the scrap of paper.

It was Chrono's handwriting.

_Rosette,_

_Sorry I had to leave so early this morning,_

_but there is something important I have to do. _

_No, it couldn't wait._

_I should be back this evening. I love you._

_-Chrno_


	2. Apple Pie

Ch 2

Chrono bowed his head in a moment of silent prayer. He could easily see the irony of a devil praying, but since Mary's death, he found himself doing it more and more frequently. He didn't depend on God though. Oh no. Devils depended on themselves and no one else.

A thin beam of sunlight illuminated the familiar room. Chrono knew all its nooks and crannies all too well…after all, he had spent several hundred years down here, ever vigilant over the corpse of his first love.

He ignored the faint chill in the air. The mustiness of the tomb almost seemed like home. The faint scent of flowers drew his eyes to the fresh bouquet on Mary's casket. He smiled to himself. His superior sense of smell gave him the knowledge that Azmaria had a hand in these flowers. He hesitated briefly, laying on hand on the cool stone before moving further into the tomb.

Just there, hidden in a crevice of the carved wall were the items he had come for. He forced aside his feeling of revulsion from even looking at them. 'This is for us.' Chrono thought fiercely. 'This is so that she and I can have a future. These can give us back our time.' One hand involuntarily clenched into a fist, before reaching out…hesitantly.

He half expected the horns to be warm still, the way they would feel if their previous owner were still alive. The black bone however was cool, lifeless. Chrono sighed in relief. He did not know what he would have done had Aion still been alive. With more confidence this time, he grabbed the two stalks of bone, wrapping them in a scrap of cloth and tucking them inside his coat.

Even before he had taken two steps outside the crypt, he knew that he was making the right decision.

He just hoped it would work.

Rosette glanced out the window for what was probably the thirtieth time today. She knew it was silly, waiting so impatiently for him to come back…but…she didn't have much time left. She reached up and grasped the watch that dangled between her breasts.

She refrained from glancing at the truth it told on its face though. She did not want to know exactly how long she had left. She had made that mistake when they had first moved out here, and it had taken Chrono days to calm her down. He had since forbidden her from looking at it again.

If she'd had a little more…well…spirit left in her, she would have argued about being forbidden _anything_ much less looking at a silly watch. But in this one instance, she was inclined to agree. Rosette pursed her lips, and busied herself in the kitchen, gathering up the ingredients for a pie.

Much easier, she had decided, to let time slip by in this idyllic peace where it was just Chrono and herself, than to worry about how soon she would die. She smiled softly, enjoying the squishy feeling of the dough for the crust.

And they had enjoyed it. She had taught Chrono silly games the children used to play in the orphanage, and he had told her stories from so long ago it made her head reel. She rolled the dough flat, and hummed a little song to herself. Yes, this was much better than stressing about how long one had to live, she decided.

Rosette glanced out the window again. Her only regret, and it was a rather shameful regret she had to admit, was that she had never…well…explored her womanly side. A faint blush bloomed on her cheeks as she sliced apples.

Sure, she had kissed Chrono, but even knowing that his true self was hundreds upon hundreds of years old, he still looked and sounded like a fifteen year old boy. Rosette snorted to herself. It was awfully hard to try and be romantic with someone who was like a little brother.

But she did love him. And even though she knew it was a sin, and knew she would be damned for it, she secretly admitted to herself that Chrono –when in his true demon form- was the most gorgeous creature she had ever seen.

She loved the way his frame towered over hers, and the sharp spicy scent that practically screamed 'eat me!'. She wanted to scratch her nails down his sharply defined abs, and yank on his braid.

Rosette blushed even more fiercely when she realized where her train of thought had taken her. She carefully filled the pie, and crimped the edges of the crust together, trying to clear her head. Honestly! No wonder devils were such trouble! Every time they show up in their demon forms, women around the world would throw themselves at their feet, hoping, praying to be noticed.

_Chrono noticed me._

Rosette snorted at her own fancy. Chrono had been forced to notice her when she and Joshua had rudely burst into Mary's tomb. And then Aion had come…and…well, suffice it to say, Chrono was stuck with her. She smirked triumphantly.

And now she had the attentions of a devil whom most women would die for. The smile slipped from her face.

A devil she _was_ dying for.

Rosette shook her head to clear it of the depressing shroud that had fallen upon her mind, but it wouldn't budge. The pie went into the oven, and Rosette went to the front porch to wait for Chrono to return.

Sitting on the porch swing, she stared out over the landscape. The sun made a brilliant flare along the horizon as it began to set. She felt…so tired. Like there was a weight on her chest, and all she could do to escape it was to sleep.

Her eyes began to slowly slide shut. The wind on her face felt so good. Something was missing though…

"Chrono…" She whispered, unable to muster the strength to say it more loudly. A dark form obscured her rather blurry view of the sunset.

"Rosette…" She smiled up at the form, knowing it was Chrono, but unable to focus on any one part long enough for it to resolve.

"Do you trust me?" Rosette wanted to chuckle. What a silly question this far into their relationship. She deigned to answer him though. "With…my…life…" She managed to utter, though the fog of sleep was quickly dragging her under.

Chrono stared down at his love, watching the life slowly escape her poor abused body.

No….

Not if he had anything to say about it.

He clenched one of the horns, steeling his resolve.

_God in heaven, if there is any justice in you, give her this._

Before the clock ticked away her final seconds, Chrono stabbed Aion's horn into the watch. He felt Rosette stiffen, electricity crackling over her body. She screamed as every nerve in her body convulsed. Chrono choked, and fell to his knees.

He had known that it might hurt, but he never expected this wracking agony. It had not hurt like this when Mary died, but this was like fire searing every fiber of his being. It took all his willpower, but he managed to grasp the other horn, and jam it against the base of one of his own broken ones.

The pain doubled, and it felt like liquid fire had been poured over his horn… His horn! The agony slowly faded, leaving Chrono curled in a limp ball, panting heavily. His body felt…!

Chrono glanced down at himself, only slightly astonished to see that he was in his proper devil form. It worked! Aion's horn had fused to the remainder of his own and been accepted! His body felt lighter, more powerful than it had in ages. He could feel his tortured horn ache as it drew in vast quantities of Astral to repair his injuries.

He sighed in relief, and glanced up at Rosette. Rosette! She was crumpled in a heap at the foot of the swing. The watch still crackled with electricity, but Chrono gathered the woman into his arms, heedless of the slight stinging sensation.

"Rosette! Rosette wake up!" He shook her slightly, a hint of desperation creeping into his voice. He placed one ear against her chest, listening carefully. Her heart…her heart was beating! Faintly, but still it was there! He looked into her face again, willing her to wake up and tell him what a brilliant devil he was.

Finally she drew in a soft breath. And another. Her eyes fluttered open, and he found himself drowning in their blueness. A few moments later, and she had gathered enough breath to speak.

"Chrono…you're an idiot" He chuckled lowly, finally overcome with what he had just done. He was too happy to let her jibe get to him though. He leaned down and pressed his lips against hers, softly, sweetly, until he had drawn a soft moan out of her.

"I love you too Rosette." He gathered up the seemingly frail woman in his arms and took her inside the cottage.


End file.
